A Reed After All
by Fury Seven Kerrigan
Summary: I know it has been done quite often, but this is a small story about Malcolm's life before the Enterprise, before Starfleet Academy, and before any of his adventures we know and love.


I know it has been done to death, but I wanted a go. Malcolm is my favourite.

Disclaimer... we all know it...

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A Reed After All

Malcolm got out of the car and ran to the house, anxious to show his mother all the treasures he had found while he'd been on holiday in Scotland with his friend Peter from school and his family. It had been a good haul- there was a big flat shell covered in little things that looked like the scabs that he often had on his knees after he'd been skidding around the playground (even though his mum had told him not to); a hook which a fisherman had given him complete with a red feather, and he was sure there were still some whelk guts on it; a tooth which had finally come out after much tugging- even Peter had had a go; and the best thing ever, a little model of a fishing boat which he had seen every evening go out towards the sunset like the cowboys did in those western films which he sometimes watched. The boat wasn't even close to being as good as his father's ship was- that was huge, Malcolm knew because he and his mum with Maddy would sometimes watch it come in after his father had been away- but the little tug boat he had in his rucksack was still a treasure, and he knew that father would like it.

He shot through the gate, not bothering to shut it, just leaving it swinging on its' hinges, and barrelled through the front door running through each room looking for mum. He stopped racing around when he came to the living room and spotted his father looking at the new school picture of Malcolm and Maddy they had had done a month before. Malcolm didn't like that picture because he had really wanted to sneeze the whole time they were sitting there for, and he was just about to as the photographer clicked his button and hurried them away. Not only that, but mum had insisted that he not get his uniform dirty before the photo, which meant he couldn't join in the football game in the playground just because it was in the muddiest part of the field. It just wasn't fair.

At seeing his daddy, Malcolm ran towards him, and Stuart turned around and picked him up, swinging him around and holding him very tight. It was a great surprise to see father at home, but Malcolm decided that hugs were for girls and started squirming to get down. Stuart Reed however, wasn't giving Malcolm up, so Malcolm decided that hugging back wasn't too much bother, so long as Maddy didn't come in the room and see.

Still holding Malcolm, Stuart backed up and sat on the sofa and set Malcolm upon his lap. Malcolm's rucksack rode up a bit on his back, and he remembered that he had to show mum his treasure. "Where's mummy?"

Stuart Reed looked at his son, and Malcolm thought that daddy's eyes looked a bit watery, like he'd been outside facing the wind too long, which was odd, because it wasn't a windy day.

"Malcolm, I need you to be a grown-up Reed for me. Mum isn't here."

Malcolm was tempted to giggle because daddy was being silly, he could **see **that mummy wasn't here, but he didn't because daddy had asked him to be a like a big Reed would be, all strong and brave like daddy was.

"She won't be coming here again Malcolm." At Malcolm's confused look, he tried again. "Mum doesn't love me anymore and so she went away so that she doesn't make us sad when she and I argue." At this point, Stuart turned Malcolm around so that he could look him straight in the eye, "but don't think Malcolm- **never** think- that she doesn't still love you and Maddy, because she does very much. She just needs to be alone now."

This was a strange thing for Malcolm- why would mummy make them sad? She had never done that before. "Is she taking a holiday then?" He asked.

Stuart grimaced slightly, and swallowed. "Kind of, but there won't be any end to the holiday because she won't come back here again."

Malcolm thought about this for a second and looked up to see his daddy crying! Actually crying! Suddenly Malcolm knew how bad this was, for something to make daddy cry it must be one of the worst things ever. This was uncharted territory here, and he didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything. He put his arms around his father and the both of them sat there in silence until Maddy came back from her holiday with her friend from school in the evening.

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A few years later.

Malcolm came home for school hols excited in the knowledge that his father would be waiting for him on leave when he got there. He'd been quite secretive the last time he'd written to Malcolm, but apparently there was a surprise waiting for him and Maddy today. He paused for a second when he heard and saw Maddy running towards him having just got off the bus from her school. She smiled at him when she caught up with him by their gate.

"Any idea what dad's up to?" She asked him, still panting slightly from the exertion of running while carrying a small suitcase and all her holiday work from her public school St. Catherine's a couple of miles away. Malcolm took her bag from her, swung it easily on to his back to join his homework- mostly physics manuals for a project he was working on- picked up his duffel he had put down, and the two of them walked to the front door together.

"No idea whatsoever. His last letter was almost boyish." They both laughed at the thought of their father acting 'boyish'. Loving and caring though he was, he still limited what emotion he did show to the world. Some people might have seen it as pompousness or arrogance, but to his children, even though he wasn't the 'touchy-feely' kind of father, he loved them dearly, and they knew it. Malcolm got to the door and held it open while Maddy went in first, swatting him playfully on the way in, and they went to the kitchen, Malcolm dropping their bags at the bottom of the stairs on the way.

"Must be out," Maddy said, having wandered through the downstairs area and re-joining Malcolm in the kitchen after taking the juice carton from the fridge first and sitting at the table. Malcolm reached to the sideboard behind him to grab the biscuit tin, selected the last hobnob and munched on it. Just as he finished, the back door opened, and in walked their father, escorting a dark-haired lady a little smaller than he was. They both smiled happily when they saw Malcolm and Madeline in the kitchen. Stuart Reed stepped forwards and introduced the lady at his side.

"Malcolm, Madeline, this is Mary Carr. Mary, this are my children." Mary stepped forwards and shook each of their hands as they were offered. "Mary will be staying with us for a while." Stuart continued. They sat at the kitchen table while Stuart made them some tea, talking as he did so. "Mary's an Intelligence Officer in the Navy. Worked together on our last detachment."

Mary smiled at them both "Your father has told me so much about the two of you- so much so, that its good to finally put faces to the accomplishments he's always boasting about. The way he goes on, you'd think he had done everything you two have done!"

Stuart put the tea down in front of them, and sat next to Mary. "Nothing wrong with a bit of pride- Malcolm got full marks in his last exam for technological developments since the Third World War, and young Maddy here is the smartest girl in the school." Both Malcolm and Maddy blushed slightly at their father's praise, but both were also very pleased that even though they only saw him during the holidays, he still remembered everything they told him in their letters.

They finished their tea, Maddy taking sips as it was not her drink of choice, and Stuart took Mary for a walk as the weather was so nice for April. Alone again, Maddy raised her eyebrows towards her older brother with a grin playing on her lips.

"Well." was all she had to say.

Malcolm looked her way, not quite comprehending the significance. Maddy rolled her eyes and tutted at her brothers denseness. "Malcolm, you can't be serious- you have noticed, haven't you?"

"Noticed what? He seems very happy."

Maddy tutted again. "Malcolm, you're such a plank- its' so obvious that they're in love! Did you see the way they looked at each other all the time out of the corner of their eyes? And the way that they smiled at each other? That was a special kind of smile. Plus, when was the last time dad had someone to stay, much less someone _female_!?"

At this, Malcolm couldn't deny that his sister probably had a point- sometimes other officers had turned up at the house, but always for business, but Mary obviously wasn't here for business, otherwise they'd be ferreted away in the study, accessible only if the house was burning down, and even then, only if it was absolutely necessary. Malcolm wasn't sure what he thought about this- Mary seemed very nice, but if his father liked her enough to bring her home, then it was probably quite a serious relationship already. Trust Maddy to pick up on that before he had. He looked at her, and she was grinning, possibly enthusiastic about having another female presence in the household for once. He stood up from the table and picked up their bags, lugging them up to their bedrooms. He decided not to worry about it- his father always knew what he was doing, and it _was_ nice to see him happy again so many years after mum had left.

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Mary stayed around the house for a week, and they saw a lot of her. It was clear that their father wanted Malcolm and Maddy to get to know and like Mary. Maddy and Mary got along like a house on fire obviously enjoying each other's presence very much. They went on a shopping trip one day, while Stuart and Malcolm went clay pigeon shooting. Malcolm couldn't wait until his father took him to the MoD base nearby to have a go at the real rifles there- he'd promised to do so one day soon. They stopped for lunch, and Stuart took the opportunity to ask Malcolm what he thought of Mary.

Malcolm swallowed his sandwich, "She's nice. Knows what she wants," he said, remembering the planning session she'd had for the week of things she did and didn't want to do while she was there.

His father chuckled at that, "Yes, she does, doesn't she? A very strong woman- wouldn't be in the position she's in today if she wasn't like that. People often think she is my commanding officer the way she orders my unit around- I once even saw her tell her superior officer what to do." He shook his head, half in amusement, half in wonder at the audacity of the woman. It was just as well she wasn't his junior- he would never have taken that from someone lower than him in rank. As it was, he found it endearing in her.

Malcolm couldn't quite believe it- their house was a happy one, but also a disciplined one; woe betide them if either one stepped out of line. "You like her, don't you?" He said awkwardly- this sort of thing wasn't very easy for a Reed to talk about.

His father looked at him. "Very much so. We've known each other for quite a long time. Never saw it coming, but here we are. You wouldn't be angry if you thought she was trying to take over your mother's place now, would you?"

Malcolm thought for a minute, taking another bite of sandwich. "No." He said at last. "Maddy and I both want you to be happy, and we haven't really seen you this happy as you are with Mary for a long time now."

Stuart smiled and clapped his son on the shoulder. "Thankyou son. That means a lot to me."

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It was rare that he and his father had a heart to heart like that, so later that evening, Malcolm told Maddy about it. She nodded.

"Mary had the same sort of thing with me while we were out. The way they're both talking, I wouldn't be surprised if they got married within the year. She told me how she had always wanted to be called mother by someone, but she comes from a Navy family, and the career came first for them, just like us. It seems funny we've only known her a week. I guess if they do get married, it won't be for a while yet. It's only April- they have a whole eight months before I'm proven wrong."

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Maddy wasn't proven wrong. At the end of the summer holidays, four months later, Mary and Stuart Reed were married, and she asked Malcolm and Maddy to call her mother, which they did quite happily. They had got to know her since their first meeting, and saw what their father had seen, that even though she liked to plan things meticulously, down to the last detail, she was also fun to be with. They had been planning, at their new Mother's insistence, to move house, as she felt uncomfortable living in the same house which their mum had lived in years before. Stuart condoned this, and so in a wild move (obviously their father had been in a romantic mood at this point, which Maddy thought was hilariously out of character), they had decided to move to where Stuart and Mary had first met at Kota Bharu in Malaysia. There was a strong Naval element there, so they could both still work quite happily, and, as his father had pointed out to Malcolm, it was about time that he see how being in the Navy wasn't so much a career move, as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the world in all its' glory. Malcolm was very proud of his family's Naval heritage, and his father was very understanding about his aquaphobia, so long as he kept in mind his Uncle Arch, who had the same problem, and overcame it. He was a Reed, after all.

Malcolm decided that he could really come to love Malaysia- it was so exotic in every way, battering every sense he had- the noise of the people was so different from England, and everyone was smiling; the smell of the spices used in the roadside cooking stalls combined with the flowers being sold in mats on street corners and the sweet sickly smell of rotting rubbish in the alleyways was intense, and the colours of people's clothes would brighten any rainy day. He and Maddy were installed in the school based on the Navy site, although they rarely saw their newly married parents. They soon found out that Mother wouldn't tolerate fools, and while she was still very smiling, discipline in their new home was much more strict than it had been before.

Malcolm came home from school about a year after the wedding to find Maddy quietly crying on her bed. It was so unlike her that Malcolm was unsure of what to do immediately. He made his mind up and went and sat next to her and put his arm around her. She turned towards him, sniffled, and tried for a brave little smile. "Don't worry Malcolm, nothings really wrong, I'm just a little disappointed, that's all."

That didn't quite cut it for Malcolm, it just wasn't like Maddy to be crying at any time- he sometimes suspected that she was stronger than he was, emotionally. "Disappointed at what?"

"Its Mother. A couple of times in the last month, I've asked her if she wants to do something together like we used to. We haven't done anything in a long time like a girlie shopping trip. But when I suggested it, she said 'don't bother me, can't you see I'm busy?', just like that. She's not the same Malcolm."

Malcolm reached over and hugged her. "She probably is just busy- she is in intelligence after all, and that is quite a busy job you know." The words sounded pithy even to his ears. It was becoming more and more obvious to the two of them that their Mother had cooled down towards them in the last couple of months or so. The words had meant to be a kind of bland comfort to the both of them actually, but Malcolm couldn't feel any conviction behind them, and he was sure Maddy couldn't either. Malcolm tried to figure out why she might have changed, perhaps they had snubbed her in some way, but offhand, he couldn't think of anything.

"How about if I mention something to father next time we're alone?" He asked his sister, trying to appear as if he were taking action on her feelings- they had always been there for each other when father had been away and mum had left, and he didn't want her to think that that had changed at all. He was very protective of his little sister and would always look out for her. Little did he know that Maddy, whilst younger, had always looked out for him too. He felt her nodding against his shoulder. "And how about if I let you choose the channel on the TV?" He asked her, trying in his own way to make her feel better- they often had to have an arm wrestle to see who would get to decide, which Malcolm usually won, and so this allowance wasn't to be taking lightly. The nodding against his shoulder became more persistent, and Maddy looked up at Malcolm and smiled a small, but more genuine smile than before.

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Another year passed, and while it was hard for Malcolm and Maddy to put their fingers on specific incidents, life in the Reed household became more and more volatile. Arguments arose at the strangest of non-events- a draft from Malcolm having left the door open to allow a breeze through the muggy house when the fans weren't working; homework not getting 100; Maddy getting stomach upsets that meant she couldn't attend school for a few days- Mary said that it was 'malingering', even though it was obviously quite genuine. She instilled into Malcolm and Maddy a sense of unease and a strange inexplicable terror which frustrated Malcolm as he couldn't figure out **why** he was so secretly afraid of his Mother. Mary was softer towards Maddy than she was towards Malcolm, but not by a lot.

Sometimes Malcolm would see Mother looking at him silently, as if trying to work him out. It made him uneasy. She had created spot checks on him when he was in his room. She would suddenly burst in on him, as if trying to catch him in the act of something she might have had a go at him for. The irregularity of these checks and yet the knowledge that one could happen at any moment without warning combined with the inexplicableness of it all, made him inevitably jumpy and paranoid.

His room changed as the years went by to demonstrate this. He became quite Spartan in his tastes- the fewer things for her to find fault with. She would still burst in, eyes narrowed and calculating, inspect, smile a smile that didn't reach anywhere but the corners of her lips, then leave him be.

Arguments were a regular feature of life in the Reed house, and over the smallest of things, so small, that a day later, no one could remember exactly why there had been an argument in the first place.

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When Malcolm and Maddy had the house to themselves after school, they were at peace, and though they were jumpy and on edge, they still managed to have fun, safe in the camaraderie of each other. When Malcolm was about 17, he and Maddy were lying on the roof of their house, watching the clouds go by in silence. Malcolm was very quiet these days, tending more to thinking things over and watching people, apart from anything else, if he made no noise at all, it was less for him to be told off for. Their Mother put it down moodiness and told him off for it anyway.

Maddy turned towards her brother. "Have you noticed how dad tends not to talk to us much these days, especially you."

Malcolm didn't answer, just crossed his arms behind his head.

She turned back. "In our psychology lessons, we are learning about divide and conquer. It is almost like what Mother is doing here. It is obvious to the world and its' brother how close you and dad are, or were rather, and she is jealous of it. I think that's why she is so touchy about you and finds fault with everything you do, even when you haven't done anything. Dad doesn't say anything cause he doesn't want to annoy her. She's splitting us all up.

It is hard to believe she's the same person she was when we first met her. Course," she added, " one could say that marrying into a ready-made family can't be easy and that she's making the best of what she can."

At this, Malcolm gave a bitter and not a little cynical laugh. "The best?"

"You have to look at these things from all sides, there has to be a reason why she is so hostile towards us after all. I think she just sees us as undermining her relationship and marriage to dad- he was always so proud of you in particular, always talking about you. Maybe not his favourite, but you are the next of the Reed line- the one to inherit the traditional career, the prestige, the honour of our name and all its' history. How could someone not be jealous of that? Mother doesn't have her own children, and probably never will, so her contribution to the Reed heritage is just about nil really. It is kinda sad."

What Maddy said was too true, Malcolm knew. He knew it was no one's fault that this was what the Reed household had turned into- something of a battle ground of wits, where each war was fought through psywar- psychological warfare, each trying to grind down the morale of the other. In his head, those words sounded so big and dreadful to Malcolm, but in reality, he knew that their little arguments were nothing in the grand scheme of things. Everyday, he took a walk in the surrounding area, and he often passed children who begged in the streets for money or food, old men who had no hands, or what seemed as if chunks of their skin had been surgically removed due to leprosy. He knew that many of those homeless people had AIDS and that the life expectancy was pitifully low, that the infant mortality rate was scandalously high, and that female infanticide did exist, even though it was not encouraged for people to know this fact. The medicine and cures for some of these things existed, as did the welfare, but the government did not have the time or the inclination to go out into the streets and find these people who needed the help that was provided. The people themselves held a deep rooted and age-old mistrust in the establishment, and thought that the way they were living was the way in which they had lived for generations and had survived thus long, so why put their faith in something that had yet to help them in any serious way? In the context of these things, the pettiness of the events in their home was laughable, and Malcolm felt guilty for feeling as if he was being persecuted.

He knew that it wasn't long until he was legally an adult, and therefore could leave home, as soon as his final exams were done. He'd been thinking about his future a lot recently. It had always been assumed that he would go into the navy, just like all the Reed men before him. But he had been swayed by the Starfleet recruitment people who had come round to visit the school a few months ago. The ranking was still navy-defined, they served on 'ships', but with the added bonus of there being no water involved. It was basically the space-navy. It appealed to Malcolm in ways that Royal Navy never could, but he was absolutely positive that Mother and father wouldn't see it from his point of view.

He decided to broach the subject at dinner, as he knew that he couldn't put it off forever, especially as the final exams were coming next term.

He mulled it over as they were eating, wondering how he could begin. As he was clearing the plates off the table afterwards, he brought it up.

"Father, I would like to join Starfleet once I have finished my studies here." Nothing like being direct after all.

His father's head snapped up, and he looked directly at Malcolm, who looked right back, trying to show a confidence he wasn't feeling. The skin was taut around Stuart's eyes, and his lips were pressed together.

It was all very quiet for a moment until Mary, not looking at anyone, put her hand on Stuart's arm comfortingly.

"Come now Stuart, no need to make a scene. Malcolm is obviously just craving a bit of attention. He's at that difficult age you know." She looked towards Malcolm as she said this last, and it seemed as if she was slightly pitying. Malcolm felt as if he was in the middle of some game of hers which he didn't understand the rules of. He felt that there was a trap coming up, but he couldn't see what it could be.

"Why don't the three of us discuss this in the study?" his Mother suggested, still looking at him, but clearly addressing father, who had barely changed his expression.

With a feeling of trepidation, Malcolm left the room and went into the study, alone for the moment. He went over to the window and stood at it, looking out without seeing. He grasped his hands behind his back, determined to not let their slight shake give away his nervousness. He'd never actively stood up in front of his father and told him outright that he wasn't going to do as he was told, and he felt a slight queasiness at the thought, not least because it was going to be hard enough without Mother there making things that little bit more difficult.

They quietly walked into the study and Malcolm turned to face them. Father sat at his desk with Mother standing just behind him. An odd sense of dread settled in the pit of his stomach and the back of his throat. It frustrated him that he couldn't fully explain why he had this reflex action whenever Mother was around and whenever they had a 'civilised conversation' in the study. Malcolm had the feeling of interrogation, of being put in a spotlight, under intense scrutiny. Surely there was only so much his parents could do to him, and whilst Mother would on occasion fly into a frustrated rage and shake his slight frame or hit him, the things that were hurt most were his pride and dignity. Despite all this, he stood before them now feeling sick and afraid but determined to argue his point.

Silence fell upon the room, Mother and father just regarding him for a few moments, though they seemed like an eternity to Malcolm. He resented the silence- he wanted the shouting to begin so the tension would break and he could just go sit in his room with his books in a more companionable quiet.

The miniature grandfather clock ticked languidly and Malcolm found himself counting the ticks to give him something else to concentrate on- a noise to ease his mind.

Stuart eventually cleared his throat and clasped his hands in front of him on the desk. "Now then boy, what is all this about? Explain yourself."

Malcolm swallowed and cleared his throat, but his voice still came out smaller than he'd wanted or needed right then.

"For years, I've been training to be in the Navy- it's all I've ever known, and I _am_ proud to be from a naval family, I am, but I just don't think it's for me. It isn't what I want-"

"What you want isn't what's relevant here," Mother interrupted, not loudly, but with a definite conviction. His father stayed silent now, just looking at Malcolm suspiciously. "You have a duty, and you can't fail in that- you have a duty to your family and to the Royal Navy as all Reeds have done for generations."

"But what if I'm not like _all_ other Reeds?" Malcolm asked, still quiet but determined to argue his point.

"You aren't like other Reeds." His father agreed. "All other Reeds knew their duty. You realise, don't you, how important duty is? When you do your duty, everyone can see how reliable you are, how honest your are, and how honourable you are. Once people see that, they come to respect you and admire you. That is how you lead people. You are borne of a military family son, it is in your blood and has been for generations. You can't deny it. You can try to be something else, but could you honestly see yourself being a teacher, or a doctor, or a mechanic, or a publisher? You couldn't- I know it, your Mother knows it, and you know it best of all. You're not desk job material- you're too much like me son. Can you understand what I'm saying?"

Malcolm and Stuart were quiet, looking at each other for a short moment. Malcolm's eyes had widened almost imperceptibly- it was very unlike his father to make a speech in the domestic sphere- it was usually Mother's job, and she did it well.

As usual, it was Mother who broke the silence. "I think this whole Starfleet thing has made Malcolm forget his duty to you Stuart. There is too much of his mother in him rather than you, so duty is less ingrained." Malcolm bristled at these words, and partially regretted his next words as soon as they were out,

"That's not true!" He exclaimed. "I know my duty!" His voice had increased in pitch and volume suddenly. Mother came around the desk faster than Malcolm had quite realised and slapped him across the cheek, not hard, but with enough force to make his cheek hot and his eyes prick with tears. It just wasn't fair. "How dare you talk to your father like that!" She said, still at his side, fingers stretched as if the slap had stung her as well. "He's done everything for you since your mother deserted you, and look how you repay him, you stupid ungrateful child."

Malcolm looked from Mother to his father, and suddenly it hit him that his father wasn't going to say anything in his defence. Stuart didn't even look at his son, just at his hands folded on the desk still in front of him, unmoving. There was no expression even, of the relationship that the close father and son had once had. The strain that the household had been under while Malcolm had been growing up had all but destroyed that. It felt like a betrayal to Malcolm, and it was enough to let one of the pooling tears fall slowly. But only one.

Mother reached out and roughly took Malcolm's shoulders and turned him to face her. "Look at me when I'm speaking to you! Rude boy. There is no point in appealing to your father when you're so much like your mother- you know she didn't love you, don't you? That she didn't want you?"

Malcolm could just see that his father had looked at Mother as she said this, but still said nothing.

Malcolm said nothing either. Anything he said would just provoke. He had learned by 17 that the arguments would be over much faster if he said nothing and be as kow-towing as possible.

Mother let go of his shoulders in frustration and turned to the desk picking up an item and throwing it into the corner of the room in to vent herself. It didn't make much noise, but Malcolm almost jumped out of his skin with the action. He looked at what it was in the corner, as did Stuart. It was a little toy boat, the one Malcolm had brought back from his holidays for his father all those years ago. Malcolm swallowed and turned back, catching his father's eye as he did. Stuart flinched- it seemed to Malcolm to be the final acknowledgement of something they had once had together.

Stuart stood and went to Mary trying to calm her. She turned to him, still angry, but not with him, at Malcolm. She allowed herself to be pulled into a light, comforting hug, looking at Malcolm over Stuart's shoulder, but with an expression that was unfathomable to the younger Reed. He looked once more at the broken boat in the corner, and then back at his parents. His father had gone to his Mother, as he knew he would, though Malcolm realised deep down, that he loved her still, as well as him, but he didn't want to listen to that voice. He buried it down deeper, and the anger and injustice and the fear that he had lost his father to a woman who seemed to hate him came out in a rush of words- " Well it seems that I'm no longer welcome here anyway! For years, you've treated me like a child- no one has asked what _I_ want, what it is that _I_ want to be- you've all just assumed! Well, I am choosing Starfleet. That is my _choice_, though I don't expect you to understand- freedom of choice is obviously an alien concept in this house!"

Both of his parents had turned at the outburst and just stood where they were by the desk, looking at him. He had never had an outburst like this before- he had always been the quiet, one in the house, trying to be good and not make any more arguments than he already seemed to. Malcolm took advantage of their dual shocked silence and carried on, suddenly not giving a damn about what their reactions would be. He felt liberated.

The sight of them standing together, shoulder to shoulder made them look like a united front against him, which incensed him further- "I've only one more year here until I can leave for Starfleet- _that_ is my future! No water, no Navy, and no _you_!"

He instantly realised that he couldn't stop and wait for their reactions, so he executed a perfect about-turn and marched out of the room, slamming the study door behind him. Once he was in the next room, he broke into a run to his room, his heart pounding furiously, but not from the sudden spurt of energy. He looked at his hands- they were shaking. He tucked them under his arms, hoping to squash them still, then sank to the floor and slumped against his bed.

There was a timid knock at the door, and it opened very gently. As it did, Malcolm could hear all hell breaking loose in the study. Maddy's head cautiously came around the door.

"What was that about?" She whispered.

Bizarrely, Malcolm decided at that point to giggle, then he gave a small sob, then hiccuped, stopping with another giggle. Maddy regarded him for a second as if he was a madman, but then came and sat down beside him on the floor, leaning against his bed with him. "You've done it now," she carried on.

"Mm." He murmured.

They both jumped together as they heard a door slam and footsteps coming to the door of the bedroom. It burst open, showing Mother. "Madeline, get out." Maddy scrambled up and behind Mother and out of the room with exceptional speed. Maddy leaving hadn't made Mother pause in her speaking though- "Malcolm... just wait until your father decides what to do with you. If it were _my_ choice... but there, it isn't. You be grateful to your father, whatever he decides boy."

She left, slamming the door behind her, causing Malcolm to jump sky-high again. Her footsteps echoed loudly to the front door, where Malcolm listened as she left, got in the car, and drove off.

He realised he was still shaking, though now she had gone, his breathing came back down to normal, and his shakes started to leave him.

Then he heard his father's slower, more sure footsteps coming to his door, which then opened, and Stuart took a couple further steps into the room. Malcolm stood and clasped his hands behind his back again. He suddenly felt ashamed of speaking to his father like he had in the study. He still respected and loved his father, though he wasn't going to say as much. He was still a Reed, after all. But he wasn't going to apologise for it either- some things had needed saying, even if they hadn't come out as peaceably as Malcolm would have liked.

Stuart looked as if he was going to say something, then closed his mouth, only to begin again a second later. He looked at Malcolm as he spoke this time. "I'm sorry it's come to this. Your Mother won't stay in the house another minute while you're here now Malcolm. I've asked you time and time again to stop these disagreements you and her have had over the years and see things from her point of view. It isn't easy coming into a family while you were growing up. Maddy was young enough to not cause such arguments, or not to know any better when she did, but I expected more of you, son. Your Mother has gone out for a drive now, but she'll be back soon and she expects you to be gone when she returns."

Malcolm couldn't believe what he was hearing- father really was taking her side. Malcolm hadn't even done anything wrong, he just wanted to be who he was, not who he was told to be, and this was the result. Outwardly, he merely blinked.

Stuart carried on. "I made a call and pulled a few favours- you're not going far, you'll still be on the base, but I suggest you don't come to visit, though obviously, Maddy and I will come to visit you. You'll only be in barracks with the younger recruits for the Navy. No one need know why you've left, you understand. It wouldn't look good for us to be squabbling, what with mine and your Mother's positions on the base. You know? I hope you do son, as I won't have anyone bad-mouthing us. Understand that, and you'll do well. I hope that given a modicum of freedom from the household will persuade you that the Navy is the best for your future, and not this Starfleet rubbish." He paused, noticing the red hand print, still vivid on Malcolm's pale cheek. He suddenly looked a lot like his mother- his real mother. Stuart suddenly looked away. "Best pack now son, she won't be gone long."

He left the room leaving Malcolm feeling betrayed by his father, elated that he was leaving, and afraid for a reason he didn't really understand just then. He jerked himself free of the stupor and packed his necessities. There wasn't much in his room anyway- school work and books, a few personal books, clothes, toiletries. He hesitated over his pictures of his family, but decided to leave them. They had made their stand clear, and he was going to move on. Being in school on a naval base and growing up in a naval family had shown him over the years that it was a future he would never want to have- he just wasn't built for it, and so he would never really be accepted by the Reed household again. It was time to move on.

As he packed his new life into a small suitcase and rucksack he realised he still felt the Reed pride, and he did feel that duty, but a duty to protect people in the only way he knew how. He knew weaponry and arsenal mechanics, and Starfleet had advertised for Security and Armoury personnel. He would never be a Navy man, but if he worked hard enough, maybe one day he could still hold to the duty and make his father see that he had never neglected what he had taught him.

He walked out of his room and to his father waiting at the front door, car keys in hand. A sound on the stairs made him look back. Maddy was sitting there, looking through the banisters. When he looked up at her, she gave him a small wave. He waved back and gave a small quirk of a smile, putting on a brave front for her at least. She half smiled, which turned into a chin wobble, then she got up and left quickly towards her room. It was a silent farewell.

Malcolm's smile fell. He looked down, and walked through the front door, not looking at his father.

He was a Reed after all.


End file.
